Typical door and wall construction methodologies rely upon drywall mounted over a wall frame (such as wood, metal or concrete). Sheets of drywall are joined by drywall joining compound (referred to herein as “mud”) and/or drywall tape to form the walls and painted over to provide an overall uniform aesthetic. Corners at the end of walls are formed in the same way, although corners formed by mud and tape are rounded and uneven.
Doors are formed in walls by creating a cavity in the wall frame with studs, lining the studs with frame components, and mounting the door in the frame. A casing which protrudes beyond the wall is typically mounted on top of the frame. The door itself is typically flush with the casing on one side or the other, but this is not always the case. Due to the protrusion of the casing and door, the design has an uneven visual aesthetic.
Some home décor styles, such as modern, are based on clean, sharp lines. Metal door frames are popular in this space, as the metallic color fits the visual style, and the near perfection in the dimensions provides for sharp corners and a uniform visual appearance. Various door frame designs can also be made flush with the wall, such that the wall, frame and door appear as a commonly extending surface.
Referring now to FIG. 1, metal door frames can be made from extruded aluminum frame components 102 in batch heights (e.g., 10 feet long), and cut to desired height (on site or in advance for typical sized door openings) to form the left, right and top frame section 104/106/108 of the frame 100. Slots in the interior of the frame define corner keys receiving L-shaped corner keys 110 that connect the three sides. The sides are screwed to the adjacent wall frame and/or drywall 112. Hinges and a latch are mounted in the frame, and door 114 is mounted on the hinges. Different frame shapes may be used for the door to open inward or outward.
The frame components 102 have a particular shape per its design in function. FIG. 2A shows a cross section of a prior art door frame component 200 as shown in U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0114587, in particular a cross section of left frame section 104 of frame component 102 taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, where the left side of the door 114 is considered the front and the right side is considered the rear, but this is for purposes of explanation only. FIG. 2B shows a similar prior art frame component 250 for an inwardly opening door taken from the same position and cross section.
Referring to FIG. 2A, an outward frame side 202 of left frame section 104 has outwardly extending flange 216 that is sandwiched between the drywall 112 and the wall studs 218; shims (not shown) may be provided as needed for proper installation. Screws 220 inserted through flange 216 connect the frame side 104 of left frame section 100 to the wall stud 218, and screws 222 inserted through the drywall 112, flange 216 and wall stud 218 secure the front of frame side 104 to the drywall 112. Mud and tape applied (not shown) between the edge of frame side 104 and wall 112 complete the installation to provide a front facing uniform appearance without curves.
A rear side 204 of left frame section 104 has a curved recess 206 configured to engage with a mating plate 208 with a curved edge. To mount and secure the rear side 204 of left frame section to the wall, a lip of mating plate 208 is slid height wise into recess 206 and rotated into a position perpendicular with the rear side of the wall stud 218. Screws as inserted through the plate 208 into the wall stud 218, and additional screws are inserted through the rear drywall 212 (212 not noted on FIG. 2A), plate 208 and wall stud 218. Mud and tape applied will provide a uniform rear facing appearance without curves.
The above prior art frame components have several disadvantages. One drawback is the interlocking nature of the plate 208 and the left frame section 104 is difficult to install because the plate 208 must be inserted-and held by hand or tape in place while being screwed into the frame.
Another drawback is the frame component width (left to right in FIG. 2A/B) is set to match a predefined combination of a common wall width and a common drywall width. If the width of wall stud 218 is wider than the corresponding width of frame side 104 such as shown in FIG. 2C, then additional distance needs to be made up with a drywall extension 260. This complicates installation as the plate 208 and recess 206 are inaccessible, forcing the use of other installation methods. The finished product will have a combination of metal at 262 and drywall at 264, for which the lack of metal along the entire width of the frame and the corresponding combination of metal plus painted drywall creates an unstable joint which is prone to cracking, and an undesirable visual aesthetic for modern décor. The corresponding rear inner facing corner 266 of the frame is also made of mud and/or tape, and will thus have the rounded/uneven shape that is an undesirable visual aesthetic for modern décor.
Yet another drawback is that modern décor style often involves creating gaps around door frames. These are made by channel components known as “reveals,” such as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, which are laid across the edges of the frame as shown in FIG. 20. As seen in FIG. 20, the distance D1 between the reveal 1002 and the inner edge of the front door frame is different from the distance D2 between the reveal 1002 and the inner edge of the front door frame. This distance is discernable to the naked eye and an undesirable visual aesthetic in modern décor.
All depictions of cross sections and perspective views of frame components in the drawings are to scale. Depictions of components that interact with the frame components are not to scale.